Lisa Gornick has been hailed by NPR as “one of the most perceptive, compassionate writers of fiction in America…immensely talented and brave.” She is the author of four previous novels—most recently The Peacock Feast and Louisa Meets Bear.

In this episode, Lisa chats with Marrie Stone about her latest novel, Ana Turns. Ana is turning 60, which is cause for reflection on her sexless marriage, her 7-year affair, her worries about her only child who’s doing some reflecting of their own, her arguably cruel and emotionally unavailable mother, and much more. In addition to unpacking how Lisa rendered these characters and their chorus of voices, they chat about how to manage time and backstory in a novel, dealing with contemporary issues in sensitive ways, thoughts on sensitivity readers (with a brief reference to Ian McEwan’s thoughts on the same),  and weaving in subplots, among other topics.

Lisa also shares some psychotherapeutic wisdom from her days as a practicing therapist including unpacking writers’ fears about telling their own stories authentically because of who it might hurt, the right to tell ones’ stories, and how to protect others along the way. She also shares some additional insights about how her work in psychotherapy impacts her writing process on Patreon. To read more, or for more information on Writers on Writing and additional writing tips, visit our Patreon page.

To listen to past interviews, visit our website. We’re also excited to announce the opening of our new bookstore on bookshop.org. We’ve stocked it with titles from our guests, as well as some of our own personal favorites. By purchasing through the store, you’ll support both independent bookstores and our show. New titles will be added all the time (it’s a work in progress). Finally, on Spotify you can listen to an album’s worth of typewriter music like what you hear on the show. Look for the artist, Just My Type. Email the show at [email protected]. We love to hear from our listeners.

(Recorded on December 6, 2023) 

Host: Barbara DeMarco-Barrett
Host: Marrie Stone
Music and sound editing: Travis Barrett (Stream his music on Spotify, Apple Music, Etc.)